Barrens chat
Barrens chat is a condition which occurs when you have a large, sprawling area with a single chat zone and make it the only viable means of leveling from 10-20. Barrens chat is like a stupidity centrifuge, distilling the unexpurgated banal thoughts of a thousand morons into a hardened impenetrable lump of smacktardery, spilling endlessly across the bottom of your screen."http://pc.gamespy.com/flintlocke-vs-the-horde/episode-6-to-the-barrens/921392p1.html A common Barrens chat example would be: And so on. While some find it annoying, many older players remember Barrens chat with fond nostalgia. Barrens chat can be avoided by simply /leaving the general channel. "Barrens chat" is not, however, restrained to quest-specific topics: puns and wordplay are common, as are discussions with (relatively) more depth, such as philosophy, physics, and subjects encompassing various areas of theoretical science. Origins Tauren, orcs, and trolls proceed to the Barrens after their respective starting areas. (Mulgore for the former and Durotar for the latter two.) It is not uncommon for Forsaken to proceed to this area as well instead of heading to Silverpine Forest. Consequently, most of the new Horde population is stuck here for 10 or so levels. The Barrens is a large and desolate area, branching into other leveling areas such as Ashenvale, Stonetalon Mountains, Thousand Needles and back to Durotar towards Orgrimmar. As a result, it becomes a massive focal point for characters from as low as level 10 up to level 30. The boredom that results in the long runs to questing areas and hand-ins contribute to the Barrens chat phenomenon. Sadly, (or fortunately depending on how you view it) Barrens chat is nearly extinct. Barrens chat was prevalent because most players during its heyday were brand new, and therefore inexperienced about the quests in the area, and more talkative. Most players in this level range now are usually alts who have no need to ask about quests or engage in small talk. Moreover, the addition of a flightpath in Camp Taurajo has eliminated the need to make long runs and subsequently addressed most of the boredom that leads to Barrens chat. In addition, the Ghostlands offer another option for leveling through the teens. Barrens chat is, however, making a comeback as of late. With a large flow of new and old players still heading into and through the Barrens, the chat persists for even alts get bored and attempt to incite Barrens chat for themselves with often successful results. New topics have included Christopher Reeve, Felsteeds, and flamewars current and recent (usually on the trade channel). The mere mention of Chuck Norris then incites a chain reaction, resulting in a neverending chain of every Chuck Norris joke ever made. : This idle banter refers mainly to the chat in the Barrens, but can also refer to similar non game related chatter in other zones. In such cases, however, the name "Barrens chat" is replaced with a title appropriate to the specific zone. "Many experienced players level their alternate characters in this zone and frequently make up stuff in general chat to drive the lower level characters into your classic "Barrens chat" nonsense it only takes a little bit to get them going." — Zodd, Thunderlord Common Barrens Chat topics :* The biggest: Chuck Norris jokes (The most common Barrens chat topic. On some RP servers, good ol' Chuck is replaced with High Overlord Saurfang) :* The Alliance Outrunners :* "Where is Verog the Dervish?" :* "Where is Mankrik's Wife?" :* "Where is Mahren Skyseer?" :* "Where is Kranal Fiss?" :* "Where is Stolen Silver?" :* Murlocs :* Metallica :* "Your Mom" :* Mr.T (along with the famous Chuck Norris in a bar joke) Bad cow puns While it is usually restricted to tauren character names, Barrens chat sometimes sees an explosion of 'cow' puns and jokes, which often involve plays on various beef- and butcher-related professions. And udders. Barrens Chat and Blood Elves Since the release of the Burning Crusade, blood elves have a similar chat area that is much like the Barrens. It is called the Ghostlands (blood elf starting area that takes you through levels 10 - 20). The flow of characters is much like that of the Barrens, which is a huge area that consists of players level 10 - 20. Ghostlands chat resembles the barrens in many ways. The topics are a bit more "quest" related, but still bringing out the Barrens nostalgia. See also * Looking For Group - a commonly abused global chat channel. For a period after Patch 1.11 all players were added to this channel by default, but this was disabled after the channel was heavily abused. The channel has been re-added with patch 2.1.0, and is accessible only via the Looking For Group interface. Nowadays, the Trade chat, which is common to all capital cities, is what is closest to the ancient LFG channel and is also commonly abused with random jokes. Trivia On the Blizzard Catalog there is a shirt that reads: "I survived Barrens chat." Some players who use Trolls rephrase the quote "Stay away from the voodoo mon" to "Stay away from the Barrens mon". Κατηγορία:Silly Κατηγορία:Game terms